St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-08-12
AT THE WRECK.
A Terrible Scene Around the Fatal
Bridge---H HeadleSS COrpses.


CHICAGO, Aug. ia Times special
from Forest, ILL.,, says: About o'clock
one of the Times staff was driven out to
the wreck. The drive way led along
the left of the railroad, and to the south
of the road was an Old-fashioned osage
orange hedge. The road was very
muddy and full of chuck holes. A
stream of humanity was pouring in
from the wreck. Some had checks in
their hats and carried valises. They
were evidently passengers on the i'll
fated train. Country boys and girls
came along swinging hands and talk
ing in low tones about the terrible
disaster. A photographer dragged
his weary limbs along the track. He
was carrying camera and lot OF
negatives, The rOad-bed was almost
level, Just little grade running up to
the wreck at rise of ten or fifteen feet
to the mile. About two or three miles
from the 3Wn, OH a little rise, was the
debris of the wreck. The sleeping car
Tunis was at the end of the train. 1t
was lacked in the air, supported by the
trestles The front end of the car was
directly over the place where the bridge
stood. To the right lay coach all
BROKEN INTO OKlNDLING-WOOD.
Directly in the road was piled up what
was left of six or seven coaches turned
bottom side up and broken beyond
recognition. Across the track in; front
of the pile of debris was coach lying
cr0SSwiSe, way up at least ten feet in
til air. Beyond were the two tenders
and one engine. One tender was to the
left of the track and the other to the
right. They were turned bottom side
up and rent aSunder. The engine was
scarcely recognizable. On the side of
the cab was the ill starred No. ''13."
On the hedge were hats, shoes and all
manner of wearing apparel, broken Ian
terms and seats from the cars. 1t was
an awful sight. Hats of men and women,
broken and soaked with blood. coats
reeking with gore and ladies' underwear
Smeared with the life fluid. 1t was
plain to be seen from the looks of the
baggage that the travellers were well-to-
do people. 1T was simply HORRIBLE"
said E. A. Van Zandt to a reporter. ''NO
words of mine can describe the awful
sleeper, and so was in no danger, as no
one in the six sleeperS was more than
shaken up. But even there we
GOT A BAD SHOCK.
felt three distinct bumps and then
rushed out of the car and ran forward
to the wreck. The scene was horrible.
horrible. The only light was the
flames of the burning bridge and above
it the day coaches were piled on top of
one another, in heterogeneous mass.
The engine was buried in the debris
and the headless body of the engineer,
Eugene McClintOck, was underneath.
From all sides came grOanS and cries
for aid. sOwe went to work, and we had
to work hard, too. If the wreck had ever
caught fire three hundred people would
have been burned to death
and the only thing we could
do was to smother the fire with dirt. 1t
was hard and slow work and took us
four hours to do it, but we did it. and
when the fire was out other help came
and we got the dead and wounded out,
and during the morning carried them
over to ChatSwOrth, where we took what
care of them we could. There was an
incident in the affair which was not
only remarkable in its way, but shows
how terribly these six coaches were
jammed and mashed together. When
the accident occurred, Andy Mooney, of
Peoria, and Conductor Stillwelf, who
were in charge of the train, were three
cars from each other Mooney was in
the second car and Stillwell in the fifth.
The next instant they found themselves
literally
IN EACH OTHERS ARMS. !
the car in which the conductor was rid
ing having been carried over the one in
front and dropped on top of the one
which Mooney was in. The strange
part of it was neither man was hurt.
The most horrible death of all was that
of Eugene McClintock. engineer of the
second engine of the double header.
The first engine, which Engineer Sath3
erland was driving. passed over the
burning bridge in safety. but it was un-
der its weight that the half CONSUMED
bridge gave way, and the tender dropped
back into the dry slough. SutEer-
lands engine kept the rails and rans OH
in safety. Such was the awful
speed of the unfortunate train that Nc
Clintock's engine plunged down into
the black hole, and as the tendermount-
ed on top of the cab it took McEIintock
in the back of the neck and cut his head
clean off his shoulders. The trunk was
found under tn engine. The head
couldn't be discovered, and the pre-